Essence Match-2-Cover Concealer and Liquid Ink Waterproof Eyeliner

Happy National Day Singapore! A day late, worth mentioning still :D

It's been a really long time since I felt the want to do reviews. I usually only like to do reviews if the items excite me, not depress me. Here are 2 that I've mentioned in my weekly favourites #4 that I like so much I thought they deserve their own individual review. 

First is the Essence Match-2-Cover Cream Concealer. It is a 2 concealer pact that comes with 2 different tones of concealer, 1 to colour correct and 1 to match the skin tone. There are however, no different colour ranges of this concealer. It is also one of the cheapest concealers that can be found in Singapore at SGD$4.50 (for 2 colours to boot). I say SCOREEEEE!

(Just a note: I apologize if the photographs of used make-up disgust you (they make me cringe haha), but reality is, makeup will look like that at some point. Also, sometimes after working into the product, the colour can differ from when it is new, so I feel that it is a better representation.)

The compact itself is not very large, each colour is about the size of the old 50c coin. The cover states that it comes with 0.08oz/2.3g of product and is made in Taiwan. It also really looks like the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer + Powder Compact. I always imagine that products that look similar (Silkygirl gel eyeliner, revlon gel eyeliner, tonymoly gel eyeliner I'm lookin' at you) emerge from the same supplier and have similar results, which makes me quite the sucker.

It's a simple plastic case that clasps shut. It requires a little bit of nail digging to release the clasp but is relatively easy to open and close. The packaging is very light-weight and might feel a bit cheap, but the hinges are not loose so that's a plus. I feel like it might crack if I happen to drop it at an angle though.

The product itself is a dream to work with. It is super creamy and applies best with fingers in my opinion. The cream does accentuate flaky skin, as with most cream concealers, so try to use this on well hydrated skin. I would compare this to the Bobbi Brown Correctors in terms of texture, though the BB corrector actually feels slightly softer and creamier. The slightly drier texture might be preferred by some people as the concealer doesn't move around so much. Both the BB correcter and the Essence cream concealer crease on me, so I do recommend setting with powder. The concealer fades minimally through the day. 

As you can see above, the compact is for rather fair individuals, the colours are photographing almost white on my skin. That's why I would mostly recommend it for undereyes for people of similar skin tone to me (nc 30, might be fairer now). If you're nc 20/25 and lighter this might work on most of your face. One of the shades has a salmon undertone, though when comparing it to my peach corrector, I think it's more similar to the bisque correctors rather than the peach. The other colour is a neutral beige. Essence says the 2 shades are to be mixed and match to find your perfect shade - doesn't work that way for me because of my yellow undertones. 

This is what blew me away. The coverage of the concealer! Yes my undereyes look kinda dry - guilty of not putting eye cream! Usually, I use my BB correcter without any skin tone concealer on top of it as I find that it brightens my eyes. With this bisque-like correcter, it does brighten up my dark rings but it looks a little unnaturally white, so I have to use the skin tone concealer, which blends on top of the correcter like magic! You know how sometimes layering concealers can get cakey? Well this doesn't! On top of that, the skin tone works to subtly brighten up my complexion. My dark rings are much darker irl than in the photo, so I can vouch for the high coverage that this product has. It's really an ace product and I can't recommend it more. 

Moving on to the Essence Liquid Ink Eyeliner (Waterproof). First things first, packaging! This is the tiniest tube I've ever seen, measuring 8.5cm length by 1.2cm diameter. You get 0.1 fl.oz/3ml of product for SGD$3.90 if I remember the prices correctly. Eyeliner made in Luxembourg

Some liners like the L'oreal Super Liner come with a small pot for ink, and have a longer handle on the brush for easier handling. This liner has a short handle for the brush but I actually feel that the shortness of the brush makes it easier to handle when drawing a line. The brush is also gripped very tightly by the bottle so please be careful when pulling it out, less you get a face full of black ink splatters like I did! The brush also isn't the thinnest brush on the market, though the quality of your line does depend on your skill level. I don't require such a fine line so that doesn't bug me. As you can see, I can draw a decently thin line :D

The formula is a very wet formula which some may not like. It applies glossy, then dries to a deep and intense matte black. I don't think I've ever seen a black so black in my eyeliners. I found that I needed to clear the brush of excess ink before drawing on my lids because if the formula is too wet then i get a glob of liquid on my lids that is thicker than the rest of the line I'm drawing. Also, I found that drawing over the line when the formula is still wet does pull product off, so the best way to draw a smooth line is to draw the line twice, or if you're good, to only draw a perfect line once. Since this product does take a while to dry, it might not be that great if you're really in a rush.

What annoys me is that this does not stand up to water. The waterproof claim is total bullcrap. Little bit of water and rubbing and it comes straight off. I however, do not have watery eyelids (is that even possible?) nor cry alot on a daily basis so that is no problem. I do have very oily eyelids, which is a problem for most eyeliners that I own - gel, pencil or liquid. My lids are no match for this liner and it has made me such a happy girl! I'm pretty sure it can last the entire day, as long as you're not an eye-rubber. The eyeliner also lasts even when I cleanse my face with an oil-based cleanser, so I really have to get in there and rub with the oil to get the eye-liner off. One thing to note is that this comes off in flakes, not evenly so that might be a problem if the liner starts to wear off on your lids.

This is really high up on my list due to the quality vs price. Probably not the liner I would grab if I don't have time to spare, but it beats my quickie eyeliners on pretty much everything else!!!

To conclude, this is probably my luckiest make-up buy of all time, coming it at under 10buckeroos. I am so happy with these products, and for under 10 bucks, there really is no harm trying them says the obsessive compulsive spender me. Good luck!